DotA Allstars

An FAQ on Getting Started

What is DotA?………………………………………. 2
What do I need to play?……………………………. 2
How do I set it up?………………………………….. 3
Where and how do I find people to play with?…….4
How do I learn to play?…………………………….. 6
How can I learn more?………………………………6
Random Information.………………………………. 7
 What is DotA?
DotA (Defense of the Ancients) is a very popular customized game for Warcraft III:
The Frozen Throne. There are two teams of five players and each player selects one of over
seventy heroes which they will use to try to destroy their opponent’s base, while protecting
their own. As players accumulate money, they can use it to buy a large variety of items to
enhance the strengths of their hero and provide additional abilities.

What do I need to play?

• A copy of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and the expansion, The Frozen Throne (they both
must have a unique CD key, so you must purchase them, copying a friend’s CD won’t
work). You’ll need the Frozen Throne CD in to play, Reign of Chaos is just for installing.
• A computer capable of running Warcraft III. If it can run WCIII, it will have no issue with
DotA.
• A stable internet connection, 56 kbps or faster. Games of DotA can take anywhere from
30 to 90 minutes, so you’ll need a connection that won’t cut out very often.
• The latest version of DotA-Allstars, available at http://www.getdota.com. The site looks
like this -

Click on any one of the links under “Latest Map” to download the file. If there are
problems with one link, try a different link instead. The Stable Map is an older version
only used for high-level league play, so you won’t need to get it.
 How do I set it up?
DotA is much easier to set up than your average game-mod. Simply follow
Blizzard’s instructions on installing Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne.
Once you have that completed, locate your Warcraft III folder on your hard drive. Inside it,
there will be a folder called “Maps” and inside that there should be a folder called
“Downloads” (if that folder isn’t there, just make one), place the file you downloaded from
http://www.getdota.com in it. The file path should look like:

Warcraft III --> Maps --> Downloads --> DotA Allstars v6.34.w3x

Once it’s in the correct place, the only thing left is to make sure that your Warcraft III is
patched up the current version. Open Warcraft III, the main menu will look like this -

Click on the magnifying glass and choose the server that’s closest to where you live, then
click on the Battle.net button. If you already have the most recent patch it will proceed to the
login screen, otherwise the patch will begin to download automatically. If you’re patching a
new copy of Warcraft III, the download may take a long time. If there are problems and the
download isn’t working, you can download and install the patch manually from Blizzard’s
website at this link: http://www.blizzard.com/support/?id=mwr0744p

Where and how do I find people to play with?

Click the Battle.net button on the main menu again, like you did to download the patch.
Follow the instructions to create a new account (it’s completely free) and log in. Once you’re
logged in, across the top of the screen will be a set of buttons that looks like this -

From left to right, the first three buttons don’t matter, they’re only used for playing
Warcraft III itself. To get to a DotA game, you will always click on the scroll, which brings
you to a list of games that looks like this -
 DotA can be played in a variety of different modes and each game name tells you exactly
what that game will be. There’s a pretty overwhelming amount of information in some of
those game names, so we’ll go over it once piece at a time, from top to bottom. Everything
we’ll cover has been underlined in red. At the top of the screen are those two arrows, which
simply refresh the list of games. If you don’t see the type of game you want, hit the refresh
button and see if one comes up.

• ap stands for “all pick,” which means that you can choose any hero you wish to play.
• apem stands for “all pick, easy mode,” which is almost the same as ap, but the game will
give you more money to use, and your hero will become stronger more quickly.
• banlists are lists that people use to keep track of certain people they don’t want to play
with. Beginners should avoid these games, because those people usually aren’t tolerant of
inexperienced players.
• ar stands for “all random” which means that everyone is given a random hero to play with
(arem is simply ar with “easy mode” enabled). This mode isn’t recommended until
you’re comfortable with most of the heroes, but it’s a lot of fun once you are.
• 4v4 undefeated is going to be a bit challenging of a game. One team is probably a group
of four friends, which is why they’re not playing a 5v5 game. Best to avoid this one.
• Noobs please is likely to be a beginner-friendly game, it’s best to start with games like
this if you can find them.
• dmarem is “deathmatch, all random, easy mode,” which means that every time someone
dies they get a different random hero. It’s a pretty popular mode, but even more difficult
than ap or ar.
• usa/ca means that the host only wants players from the U.S. and Canada, in order to
minimize lag (command delay) in the game. Other country codes of note are BR for
Brazil, RU for Russia, SG for Singapore, etc. It’s a good idea to learn your country code.

That’s certainly a lot to try and remember, but it was only meant as an example of the
different types of things you’ll encounter in games. As a beginning player, look for ap games,
preferably with beginners only as well.
 How do I learn to play?

DotA is a game with a lot of depth, there’s quite a lot to learn about it. I’m currently
writing a guide about how to play the game itself, but it won’t be complete for a little while.
In the meantime, here are several links that can help you out. You’ll need to take a second to
register at http://forums.dota-allstars.com to view them, but it’s free and quite worth the
minute of time it takes.

- Unit Commands (http://www.battle.net/war3/basics/unitcommands.shtml) should be of

some help if you’ve never used WCIII before. Note that there is no “attack ground” command
in DotA and “patrol” is never used.
- Dota For Dummies (http://forums.dota-allstars.com/index.php?showtopic=34783) is a good
guide to getting started in DotA.
- Micro Guide (http://forums.dota-allstars.com/index.php?showtopic=37469) has plenty of
different tips to help improve your gameplay.
- Hero Listings (http://dota-allstars.com/heroes.php) have the attributes and abilities of every
hero in the game.
- Item Listings (http://dota-allstars.com/items.php) tells what every item in the game does
and how you make it.

How can I learn more?

The best resource online for more information is the DotA Allstars Forums (http://
forums.dota-allstars.com) The usual places there to find help are the New Member FAQ and
the Strategy Forum, just make sure to read all the rules before posting. Also it can be helpful
to download a few replays from the Replays Forum, to see how other people play. To view a
replay, put it in the file path:

Warcraft III --> Replays --> YourReplay.w3g

Then open up Warcraft III, choose “Single Player” and then “View Replay.” Finally, don’t
forget that everyone learns through experience - play lots of games, learn from your mistakes,
have fun, and you’ll get the hang of it!
 Random Information

The official site for the DotA Allstars map is http://www.getdota.com and the official forums
are http://forums.dota-allstars.com.

To contact the author of the game (IceFrog), use the contact link at http://www.getdota.com or
send an email to IceFrogDotA@gmail.com.

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This guide was written by Akuryou, last updated July 25, 2006 for DotA Allstars v. 6.34.